Wealthy not vaccinating children

The AMA says wealthier, better educated parents are responsible for a drop in vaccination rates around Brisbane, Queensland's Sunshine Coast and Sydney's north, where around 85 percent of five year olds are fully vaccinated while the national average is at least ninety percent.

Transcript

TONY JONES, PRESENTER: The Australian Medical Association says that wealthier, better educated parents are responsible for a drop in vaccination rates in some parts of the country.

A new study has found that while vaccination rates in Australia are high, in some pockets of the country the levels are dangerously low.

Around Brisbane and Queensland's Sunshine Coast and in Sydney's north around 85 per cent of five-year-olds are fully vaccinated. That's compared to the national average of at least 90 per cent.

STEVE HAMBLETON, AUST. MEDICAL ASSOCIATION: The science is in. We know immunisation works. We know that it protects our children and we know that we should be vaccinating our children because the benefits far outweigh the risks. It's very disturbing to see these figures in the upmarket suburbs where people have access to good information, not vaccinating their children.

TONY JONES: The Government says linking some family payments to immunisation has improved the overall vaccination rate.

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